Ebenezee holmes



(No Model.)

E. HOLMES.

I GRAIN BIN. No. 255,507. Patented Mar. 28,1882.

f o o 9( l L o o o o odi; o o

o( J3 o @fg o E B ofi a y ad l WENT@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EBENEZER HOLMES, OF CHICAGO', ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF rIIO EDWARDBAUMANN AND WILLIAM H. LOTZ, OF SAME PLACE.

GRAIN-BIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of. Letters Patent No. 255,507, dated March28, 188.2.

Application filed January 31, 1882. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EBENEZER HOLMES, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State ot' Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Grain-Bins; and I do hereby declare that the foilowingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof', reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters ot` reference markedthereon,which form a part of this specitication, and in which- Figure lrepresents a partial transverse section ot' a grain-elevator having myimprovement; Fig. 2, a plan view of a series of the grain-bins in anelevator, and Fig. 3 a secl tional perspective view ot' severalgrain-bins.

Similarletters designate corresponding par ts in all the gures. n

A denotes the lower story of a grain-house, in which the cars or teamsare loaded or unloaded; BB, the bins for storing the grain; and C, thelicor above the bins, from which the grain is spouted into any one otthe bins from the elevator or scale-hoppers. The bins B B are generally7from live to thirteen feet square and from l'orty to sixty feet deep,cach with a hopper-shaped bottom, b, that is provided with aslide orvalve for discharging the grain from the bin.

For the purpose ot' building the .bin-walls of a sufcient strength toresist the side pressure ofthe grain when piled to such a height, thesewalls are generally constructed of solid timber by spiking planks twoinches thick, and,

according to the size and height ofthe bins,

either four, six, or eight inches wide,`one tlat upon the other, and soas tobreak joints with every course, and that the planks ot' thelongitudinal walls will alternately interlock with the planks of thetransverse walls.

Whenever a bin has been entirely emptied, and before it is to berefilled with another' kind or quality of grain, its bottom should becleaned ot' any remaining grain or dust, for which purpose a man is sentdown with a broom, and means have to be provided for said man to climbfrom the top down to the bottom ot the bin. v

Heretofore rectangular frames made of veeighths-inch round iron weresecured into the binwalls aboutevery sixteen or eighteen inchesvertically apart, and so as toiproject equal distance from each sideofthe bin-wall, for forming the steps in two adjoining bins. Thesefr'ames were placed between the several courses ot planks at the properheight by notching the top ot' the planks for the step-frames to beinserted, and than secu-ring them by the next course of planks, beingspiked on top, and this was repeated every eighth or ninth course ot'planking.

As will be noticed, with rectangular frames thus placed and secured avertical row of them could furnish steps only for two bins, and when thenotches were made alittlelarge these frames slid laterally in thepartition and did not give a sure foot or hand hold to the man climbingup or down.

Now, my invention consists in forming the steps of round iron rings d,secured between the planks at the junction of a longitudinal andtransverse bin-wall, and so as to project equal distances into each ot'the four adjacent bins. For this purpose everyeighth or ninth course oftwo-inch planking thatforms the binwalls is notched out for inserting aring, d, and then the next above course ot' planking being placed uponitand secured by spikes will hold said ring rigid in its position.

The advantages gained by the ring-shaped steps are, iirst, that bar-ironis much easier bent. to the form of a ring and welded than to bend it toa rectangular shape and weld it; second, that for forming steps in aseries ot' grain-bins but onehalt` as many ring-shaped step-frames willbe required'(each ring providing steps in four adjoining bins) as withrectangular fraines, each of which provides steps only in two adjoiningbins; third, that a ringshaped step is held more rigidly in the notchesot four planks than a rectangular frame will be held in the parallelnotches ot' one plank fourthly, that the steps thus formed in the cornerot' a bin give a better hold for ay man to climb upon and less chancefor his feet to slip than where rectangular steps project from one oftheside walls; and, lastly, that by the use of the ring-shapedstepsiaigreatfsavinglinmaterial and labor is obtained.

What I claim isl. In grain-bins, and in combination there- IOOwith,theringshaped step-frames builtinto the In testimony that I claimthe foregoing as ro partitions between four adjacent bins, substanmyinvention I affix my signature in presence tially in the manner setforth. of two witnesses.

2. In grain-bins, and in combination there- 5with,thering-shapedframesd,placedinnotches EBENEZER HOLMES.

between the planks that form the partitions for four adjacent bins insuch a'manner that Witnesses: each rin g forms steps in the cornersofthe four F. W. KASEHAGEN, bins, substantially as set forth. I". W.ADAMS.

